President Barack Obama rounded out his second-term Cabinet on Thursday by nominating Penny Pritzker as his new Commerce secretary and Michael Froman to be the next U.S. trade representative.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Obama called Pritzker “one of our country’s most distinguished business leaders” and “an extraordinary civic leader.”

Obama said Froman is “one of the world’s foremost experts on our global economy,” adding that he’s confident that his pick will help lead trade negotiations that ensure a level playing field in the international market for American workers.

The president noted his personal ties to both nominees who, he said, “don’t forget what matters” and “operate with integrity.” He made the announcement before heading off on a three-day trip to Mexico and Costa Rica.

If confirmed, Pritzker would fill a post that’s been vacant since John Bryson resigned amid health problems last June.

Pritzker, a longtime Chicago-based Obama fundraiser, is a businesswoman worth an estimated $1.85 billion and sits on the board of her family’s Hyatt Hotels empire. That experience, a White House official said, makes her “one of the most accomplished and highly respected women in business today.”

But the pick also draws attention to the failure of a bank partially owned by the Pritzker family and to Hyatt’s turbulent relationship with labor unions, though unions — including the one that has battled the hotel company — held off criticizing Pritzker on Thursday morning.

Pritzker was previously considered for the Commerce job in late 2008, but was not ultimately nominated. There were concerns then that she was too controversial a pick in the midst of the financial crisis, especially as other Cabinet nominees were facing heightened scrutiny.

But after a lengthy vetting process this time around the White House decided to go with Pritzker, and an official said Thursday there is confidence that she will have an easy path to confirmation in the Senate.

“She has all the attributes — she knows business, she’s close to the president, she has strong relationships,” Bill Daley, the former Obama White House chief of staff and Clinton commerce secretary, told POLITICO.

Froman, who currently serves as an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for international economics, has been deeply involved in the Obama administration’s trade agenda for the past four years, working from the White House on the finalization of trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, and leading the administration’s preparations for major economic summits.

Mickey Kantor, a former U.S. trade representative and commerce secretary who worked with Froman during the Clinton administration, said the pick is a smart one. “He’s going to be a terrific USTR. He knows the issues, he knows the people, he knows everyone in the White House, he’s familiar with the challenges and the opportunities of the USTR.”

Froman’s nomination is also getting support from the business community, which sees him as someone with the authority to act as a strong intermediary between Obama and trade partners.

“What other countries always look for when they talk is some sense if the guy they are talking to can deliver,” said Bill Reinsch, the president of the National Foreign Trade Council. “Is he really speaking for the government? If he makes a deal, can it stick? With Mike, there is a high level of confidence that he would be able to do that.”

Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue said in a statement Thursday that his group will support Froman, who “has the vision and experience to deliver new trade opportunities for American workers and companies at the negotiating table.”

Froman is not expected to face much resistance during the confirmation process, though he is likely to be asked if the administration plans to aggressively pursue fast-track trading authority, which gives the president the ability to send completed trade deals to Congress for approval without lawmakers delaying a vote or adding amendments. If confirmed, Froman will replace former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk, who held the job throughout Obama’s first term.

Given the labor concerns, Pritzker’s confirmation process could get tricky. When Pritzker stepped down from her spot on the Chicago Board of Education earlier this year, the leader of the city’s teachers union described her as having “a long and storied history as being an anti-labor, anti-worker kind of boss” who “has supported policies that have had an adverse impact on working-class families and their children.”

Hyatt has long been involved in a dispute with hospitality workers represented by Unite Here, and Pritzker’s role in the company — while limited to her position on the board — has also made her the target of a handful of protests. As the nomination was announced Thursday, the union called for a hotel worker to replace her on the board and offered a cordial, if not glowing, assessment. “I’m confident that Ms. Pritzker will do her best to help our country,” Cathy Youngblood, a member of Unite Here who works at a California Hyatt, said in a statement released by the union.

But White House officials said they aren’t concerned. They’ve corralled support from groups including the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable to ease the process with Republicans, and don’t see concerns from labor groups as having the potential to derail the process.

If confirmed, Pritzker could offer some continuity to a department that has had a revolving door of leaders in recent years.

After Pritzker fell out of contention in late 2008, Obama nominated New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who withdrew from consideration as a grand jury investigated pay-to-play allegations against a company that donated to Richardson’s campaign and later won a state transportation contract. Obama then nominated Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who offered himself up for the job despite policy disagreements with Obama but backed out after running into “irresolvable conflicts” with the president’s views.

Obama finally got a confirmation with his nomination of former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, but Locke spent only two years on the job before taking the job of U.S. ambassador to China. Rebecca Blank, a deputy in the department, became acting secretary until the president’s next pick, Bryson, was confirmed in late 2011. Bryson had been in the job for about eight months when he had two traffic accidents over the course of a few minutes after suffering a seizure. Blank again became acting secretary and, on June 21, Bryson announced his resignation.

The administration made no movements toward finding a permanent secretary for the final months of Obama’s first term, and Pritzker’s name quickly reemerged after Obama won reelection in November.

With the nominations Thursday, all but one Cabinet-level post has been filled. All that’s left for Obama to nominate is a replacement for Karen Mills at the Small Business Administration, though Mills is staying in place until a successor is chosen.